The Fantasy of Fishery (Part 2)

After dinner, Lin Lei did not spend much time with Aierlan. He wiped his lips, still stained with a bit of grease, with a napkin handed over by a maid, and then returned alone to his study, which was only ten square meters in size.

On the desk made of Wind Fragrance Wood lay a few scattered, aged pieces of parchment, accompanied by a messily placed quill. Its tip had already dried out; it had been a long time since it was last used.

Lin Lei's study was more of an office than a study. Aside from the secret technique of battle aura he had obtained from Allen last time, there were no other books. There were, however, quite a few antique pieces of furniture, though these were not arranged by Lin Lei, but by Aierlan when she was organizing the room.

In her words, as a noble, one must look the part. A study might lack books, but it must contain items that sufficiently display noble temperament; otherwise, if other nobles found out, he would be despised and humiliated.

Thus, the study was filled with items that looked expensive but were actually cumbersome and in the way.

Lin Lei leaned lazily against his chair and picked up the piece of parchment closest to him. It was a financial report.

"What is going on? With so many supplies acquired, how is the financial revenue still in the red?"

Lin Lei was shocked by what he saw. Over the past few months, Crouching Dragon Ravine had brought in a total of nearly 3 million gold coins—equivalent to the annual profit of a small merchant caravan—yet it was still running a deficit.

The largest expenditure was the slave trade, costing over 1.5 million. The price per individual was not high, but almost all of Lin Lei's territory residents were acquired this way. After several large-scale trades and numerous smaller ones, the population of Crouching Dragon Ravine had already surpassed the 10,000 mark.

The price of population across the entire slave market had fluctuated because of his buying and selling.

Purchasing the population cost nearly 200,000 gold coins, and providing them with food, labor tools, and setting up infrastructure for their use had pushed the total past the 1.5 million mark.

The second largest expenditure was the cost of soldiers. Every month, the territory paid them salaries, which were not low—the same rate as the soldiers in Flower Territory.

There was also the daily cost of food for the soldiers, the money needed for weapons and equipment used in daily training, and the pensions paid by the territory to the families of those who died in battle. This series of expenses added up to nearly another million.

The rest was mostly Lin Lei's own living expenses and the fees for hiring mages, which caused the once-bountiful Crouching Dragon Ravine to return to its pre-liberation state overnight.

"Fortunately, the residents already purchased represent a one-time cost. In the future, they will pay taxes, which will be like dividends."

Lin Lei took a deep breath and said, his brow furrowing slightly before relaxing again.

"Even so, the territory's finances are still very tight. For other noble territories, population growth can rely on encouraging childbirth, but my territory cannot. The population base is too small; if I rely on natural development, the opportunity will have long passed. This slave trading must continue in the future."

"Therefore, I need to find more channels to increase revenue. For instance, a Wind Fragrance Wood forest can provide about 350,000 gold coins in profit annually. The furs, ores, and medicinal herbs hunted and gathered in Green Goblin Town, after deducting the food and weapons provided by Crouching Dragon Ravine, can also bring in about 400,000 gold coins."

"As for Crouching Dragon Ravine, besides the farmers, other sectors like the blacksmith shop, tailor shop, bakery, and restaurant can also generate about 200,000 gold coins in taxes annually. Once the three-year tax exemption period ends, the farmers will also provide 100,000 gold coins in taxes."

"These are enough to maintain the daily consumption of the army and the operation of the territory, but they are far from enough for development."

Lin Lei pondered in his heart and formed a plan.

Increasing revenue and reducing expenditure is the best method. Reducing expenditure is impossible, as those costs are necessary. What can be done now is to increase revenue and find more ways to make money.

"But anything related to money is difficult. 'Shit is hard to eat, money is hard to earn'—this saying is true. Finding a long-term source of income is not easy."

"Like other noble territories, most have their own merchant caravans and their own trade routes. For example, Flower Territory has a medium-sized caravan called the Rose Chamber of Commerce, which can make over 10 million in annual profit. The taxes from all the other towns in Flower Territory combined barely equal that."

Lin Lei muttered to himself.

He had also begun to prepare for the establishment of a Crouching Dragon Ravine caravan, but there were no trade routes, and there was a severe lack of management personnel and guards. With the basic framework not yet perfected, it would be years before this caravan could truly start generating profit, which could not solve the immediate problem.

"Hiccup!"

Lin Lei choked a little. The food made by the Halfling was getting better and better, and he had accidentally eaten too much, leaving the entire study smelling of fish.

"Fishy smell... that's it! I can vigorously develop the fishing industry. These land-based nobles only notice the interests on land. Due to long-standing ideological constraints, they have completely ignored the development of the ocean. Just like when Flower Territory held a banquet, although they brought in seafood from the ocean, they never treated it as a main course."

"Now that my territory is so close to the coast, why not vigorously develop the fishing industry and harvest the precious resources of the ocean?"

Lin Lei suddenly thought.

"The various marine creatures in the ocean are almost inexhaustible. Moreover, things like black pearls and red agates are luxury items among nobles. Even a black pearl the size of a pigeon egg is worth over a thousand gold coins, not to mention other larger types of pearls and agates."

Lin Lei was excited at the thought. He put down the parchment in his hand, stopped looking at the remaining reports, took a pitch-black cloak made of silver-grade beast fur from the rack behind him, and headed toward the internal affairs office.

"Wait, Allen and Luo Ji seem to have gone out to handle matters."

Just as he stepped out, Lin Lei remembered the orders he had given earlier. He had been so excited that he had forgotten about this.

Knowing no one was around, Lin Lei turned and walked toward the barracks. He prepared to have Furell try his hand at this task.

The speed of the territory's development was indeed fast, and there were very few talents available for Lin Lei to use. There was no other way; he had to let this member of the Goblin race give it a try.

"Furell, have you ever seen the ocean?"

"Lord Territory Lord, I have seen the ocean. I once led my clansmen to catch fish by the seaside."

Lin Lei raised an eyebrow, pursed his lips, and said in disbelief.

"Really? Your Goblin tribe is not very close to there. Why would you go to the seaside to fish instead of hunting in the forest?"

"Lord Territory Lord, you may not know this, but that year, for some unknown reason, a small-scale beast tide appeared in the forest. We kept our gates tightly shut and managed to survive this ordeal without incident."

"However, that was just the beginning. After the small beast tide ended, we went out to hunt, but there was not a single prey, not a single living animal. The entire forest was deathly silent."

"There was no other way, so we came to the seaside and relied on fishing to survive until half a year later, when magical beasts began to return to the forest one after another, and we returned to our previous life."

"A strange beast tide, a strange disappearance."

A flash of doubt crossed Lin Lei's mind, but it was only a fleeting thought. He then turned to the main business and spoke of his idea.

"Furell, what do you think of the resources in the ocean?"

"There are quite a lot. When I was leading the tribe, I could catch dozens of pounds of fish every day."

"That's right. The ocean's resources are extremely abundant, ten times more than you can imagine. Therefore, the territory must build docks, shipyards, and a deep-sea fishing fleet. I hope you can accept this task."

"Yes, Lord Territory Lord."

Furell agreed readily. He had been stuck in the barracks for days and was bored to tears; having a hands-on job now was a welcome change.

"Come, look here."

Lin Lei pulled out a crude map and pointed to it. It only showed the entire archipelago of Kul Tiras, with Crouching Dragon Ravine, Green Goblin Town, and Flower Territory marked most prominently.

"This is where you are going. It is an excellent natural harbor—no reefs, deep water, and perfectly suited for building a pier. I have decided to send one thousand human civilians, along with five hundred Goblin from Green Goblin Town. Having the two races live together will be more conducive to recruiting labor, strengthen the integration between Goblin and humans, and alleviate the population pressure on Crouching Dragon Ravine and Green Goblin Town."

Furell's expression remained unchanged as he listened to Lin Lei. He had long anticipated this kind of division, but he had no intention of opposing it.

"Lord, how many soldiers should I take?"

"Hmm... one hundred should suffice. Crouching Dragon Ravine needs patrols to kill the magical beasts that wander in from time to time, so that is all I can spare for now. However, I have been to that coastline myself, and there shouldn't be any danger. These soldiers are enough to maintain order."

Lin Lei pondered for a moment before giving his answer.

"Go and prepare. I will notify the Department of Internal Affairs to have the residents ready for relocation."

"Yes, Lord."

Furell departed silently. It was hard to imagine such a large frame moving without a sound, but Lin Lei was not surprised; as a Gold-ranker, he understood that level of physical control.

"The ocean, the ocean."

Lin Lei muttered to himself.

"I feel like I've forgotten something. Are there dangers in the ocean? Probably not."

As evening fell and night descended, a figure walked through the streets of Crouching Dragon Ravine. He was handsome and carried an extraordinary air, though a black cloth covered his face, obscuring his true features.

This person was none other than Lin Lei, who had just left the barracks. Looking at the now prosperous and flourishing Crouching Dragon Ravine, he had a sudden whim to emulate the undercover inspections of ancient emperors. He wanted to see if there were any serious violations of law or discipline in his territory. The higher one stands, the further one sees, but the harder it is to see clearly; only by getting close to the grassroots could he identify problems and ensure that Crouching Dragon Ravine developed better and faster.